The Times Examiner is undergoing a major transition that is planned for completion by July 1st. The former weekly hard-copy newspaper will become 100% digital beginning the 1st week in July 2018. The content will be essentially the same, however, the publication will be in real-time rather than having a weekly cutoff.
The primary election this week provides an example of the shortcomings of a weekly newspaper. Our publication schedule of going to press on Monday night for a newspaper dated Wednesday means we miss the election results and provide them to our readers eight days after they are available. The digital version will allow us to report to our readers in real-time.
The newspaper has been available on-line in the same format as the weekly paper for several years. The number of on-line subscribers has continued to increase. At the same time, the cost of publishing, printing and postage has continued to increase. We considered raising subscription prices, however, in order to cover the cost, the subscriptions would be very high.
The motivation of the management of this newspaper has never been to make huge profits. One of the objectives has been to avoid debt. Since 1994, The Times Examiner, Inc. has avoided debt and has therefore maintained its independence with the support of friends and private funds.
The publication that was originally conceived as a ministry has become a labor of love and we believe a benefit to our community. In recent months the cost of printing, postage and other overhead has made the continuation of the current publication impractical.
We ask your patience and support in this extensive effort. Our Editor, James Spurck has been working on this project for months. Much of the future work will fall on his shoulders. James is a very talented man and one of the best in his field. We expect the transition to be successful, although with any major change, there will be bumps in the road.
I would be remiss if I did not recognize that we could not have survived for 25 years without the help and support of many dedicated volunteers and loyal advertisers. Their services have been invaluable and absolutely essential.